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Outdoor Nova Scotia: Features ... an In-depth Look at 'The Great Outdoors' in Nova Scotia!
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The Ancient
Trees of McNutt's Island by Donna Ensor Imagine Nova Scotia in 400 A.D. A beautiful, remote, coastal land surrounded by saltwater as far as the eye can see; dotted with sparkling lakes joined by a network of winding rivers, and bordered by rich, lush forests. And now imagine, a group of birch trees surviving 'the test of time' to develop, mature and endure for hundreds of years on a small island, off the Nova Scotia coast. McNutt's Island, at the mouth of Shelburne Harbour contains a stand of yellow Birch trees that are centuries old. The Nova Scotia government ( Dept.of Natural Resources) has identified one of trees, as the largest and oldest Yellow Birch tree in the province.Though
not terribly high, the ancient tree is 171/2 feet in diameter and is 1500 years old.
(Photo Art by Linda Ross) There are about 30 of these primal trees on McNutt's Island, an island of 2000 acres, 6 miles long and roughly three-quarters of a mile wide. At the north end of the island is the 'Horseshoe', a sandspit that curves into the harbour with a brackish pond in the middle. A proper road follows through the center of the island to Cape Roseway Lighthouse. Facing south to the open ocean is a view that is "unbelievable". Old cellars and bricks lay on the west side, testimony to the various settlers that lived there; and there are rhubarb plants and clumps of narcissus that still bloom in spring. Proof, that plants are indeed...forever. It's a five minute walk from the Island Cookhouse, south to the big trees. Bayberries, huckleberries and raspberries line the road. Most of the birches are 12 to 15 feet in diameter, Polypody Ferns form dense mats wherever enough rotting leaf litter has gathered in the crooks of the trees to sustain growth. Spinulosa wood ferns march up the trunks and underfoot. Several of these ancient trees have been given 'proper' names - The Two Bum Tree, two 31/2 foot high burls make up the trunk, it's completely hollow on the north side;
The Haunted Tree, has a gnarled arm that make the natural cavities resemble eyes and its mouth is
an open scream. Some trees have succumb to Mother Nature, their bones lay like giant
whales beached among the mosses.This extremely spiritual place is a mystery. Why didn't the early settlers cut these trees for firewood or to build their homes? (Photo Art by Linda Ross) How did they escape being burned like most of Nova Scotia? Then there is the question of how did they survive in this hostile environment, surrounded by saltwater and the constant battering of the wind? One thing is for sure, this pocket of ancient natural history restores one's batteries, and renews one's faith that life goes on. If only the trees could tell stories of all who passed them by, or sat contemplating life under the comfort of their boughs, they could indeed tell fascinating yarns. Eric and Donna Ensor provide a Birding and Nature Walk of McNutt's Island complete with boiled lobster, Atlantic salmon or T-bone steak dinner, homecooked at the Island Cookhouse. For further information contact McNutt's Island Coastal Encounters, Ohio Road, Shelburne County, Nova Scotia.
The Ancient Trees of MacNutt's Island, first published September, 1997. Designed & maintained by Outdoor Nova Scotia, Liverpool, N.S. BOT 1KO. Material protected by copyright. Last revised: December 29, 2001 |
The
top of the main trunk has been blown off by the wind, yet a new crown of silvery growth,
grows on. The bark is no longer a warm silvery gray on the rope-like trunk, yet it
supports various lichen and mosses, giving the impression of a patchwork quilt.
Take
me to the 
